The second book in New York Times bestselling author, Donna Grant’s thrilling Sons of Texas series is finally here!
PRAISE FOR DONNA GRANT
"Grant’s dizzying mix of danger and romance dazzles ...off-the-charts chemistry and a breath-stealing plot." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Protector
The Protector
(Sons of Texas Series, #2)
By Donna Grant
Blurb:
When his aunt and uncle are murdered and his father has been kidnapped, bad boy Marine Force Recon captain, Cullen Loughman teams up with the one woman who turns his world upside down.
Everything’s hotter in Texas…
When Marine Force Recon captain Cullen Loughman learns that his father’s been kidnapped, he will do whatever it takes to find him. In order to achieve his mission, Cullen will need to team up with the best of the best?someone who just happens to be the most stunning woman he’s ever laid eyes on…
This isn’t the first rodeo for ex-Air Force pilot Mia Carter. Still, Cullen’s bad-boy good looks and charm are distracting her from duty. . .and it appears that the feeling is mutual.
As Mia and Cullen make their descent into a dark, dangerous world, their attraction reaches the boiling point. But is their desire worth the risk when a ruthless enemy is waiting in the wings? Or will their Lone Star love conquer all in The Protector?
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Visit Donna's website to learn more about the series and read sneak peeks!
Excerpts
Mia was good in hand-to-hand combat against
one. Against two, she could hold her own. Against three? Well, she wasn’t going
down without doing some damage of her own.
Right before one of the men reached her, a
knife embedded in the back of his throat. He fell at her feet, gurgling blood.
She looked around, trying to figure out where the blade had been thrown from,
but she couldn’t see anyone.
Then she didn’t have time to keep looking as
she was fighting Camilo and his last man. She gritted her teeth as her upper
right arm was sliced.
She took a step back and eyed Camilo and his
man, each holding a long blade. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement.
She caught a glimpse of a man in all black right before Camilo raised his
weapon and came at her.
Mia held her stance as he charged. She saw
her advantage and took it. Using the big guy’s dead body as a vault, she
launched herself, feet first, at Camilo in a double leg grapple.
Wrapping her legs around his neck, she used
her momentum and swung to the side, bringing him to the ground. She felt his
neck break as she twisted.
Rotating midair, she landed on one knee with
her left hand on the ground. With her combat knife still in hand, she turned
her to the last of Camilo’s men – only to find him lying on the ground with a
knife in his chest.
A man in all black walked from the trees and
retrieved his blades. Without a word, he made his way to her. As he closed the
distance between them, she let her eyes run over this unknown man.
Tall, muscular, and . . . hard. He walked
with purpose, as if assured that he would get whatever he was after. He had the
appearance of a military man with his dark hair cropped close on the sides and
short on top.
The hint of whiskers graced a strong jaw and
chin. His wide, thin lips tilted in a half-smile that made her stomach feel as
if she’d just been on a roller coaster—and wished for another ride.
Thick brows slashed over hazel eyes that
watched her with interest. He stopped a few feet from her and let her look over
him. She slowly stood, taking in the black fatigues and black tee shirt.
“We’ve got company,” he said and jerked his
chin as he looked over her shoulder.
She turned her head and saw the six men
rushing toward them. A second later, bullets began flying around them.
“Go!” the man said as he grabbed her arm and
tugged her toward the plane.
She didn’t need to be told twice. In
moments, she was inside the plane and starting the engines. With every bullet
that pierced the Valkyrie, she winced.
The sound of the engines roaring to life
made her smile. She started forward, glancing back at the open door. Whoever
the stranger was who’d helped her had little time to reach her before she left.
She closed her eyes briefly, because she
knew she wouldn’t leave him. It wasn’t in her nature. Impatience filled her as
the plane began to roll forward away from the gunfire.
There was a grunt. When she looked back, the
stranger was in her plane, pulling the door closed. Without a word, she
throttled the aircraft, speeding down the runway.
The flashing lights of police cars halted
the chase of Camilo’s men, but for how long? They didn’t know where she lived.
With Camilo dead, they might leave her alone. But it was a big “might.”
When the stranger came to sit in the seat
next to her, she glanced his way. He buck led the seat belt and leaned his head
back, closing his eyes.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“Not even a thank you?” he asked with a
grin, his eyes still shut.
She held back a sigh. “Thank you. Now. Who
are you?”
“I thought you’d know.” His head turned, and
his eyes opened to stare at her again.
There was something about him that looked
familiar. It took her a moment, but she pieced it together. “Which Loughman
brother are you?”
“Cullen,” he said with a smile.
Cullen. She stared at him with a bit of
surprise. She knew from talks with Orrin, as well as from reports she’d read,
that the Loughman boys were some of the best around – military or private
sector.
She also knew the middle brother, Owen, was
the peacekeeper, who was quiet as he listened to everyone and everything before
reacting. The eldest, Wyatt, was the intense one with barely leashed violence
beneath the surface.
But it was the youngest, Cullen, who set her
back on her heels. Each time she thought of him, chills raced over her skin—and
that was before she knew he was heart-stoppingly good-looking.
He made her . . . ache . . . in a way she
hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
Why did it have to be him that came to her?
Why couldn’t it have been Wyatt? She could’ve handled the eldest Loughman with
ease.
Cullen held a combination of both his
brothers. There was a heavy dose of lethal brutality just waiting to be
released on those who stood against his country—or his family.
But he was also patient. To some, he might
seem indifferent, but she’d seen the look he currently wore on Orrin’s face
before. There was no indifference. Only planning and preparation down to the
very last detail.
She briefly closed her eyes. The attraction
couldn’t be denied. But it wasn’t just that. She’d felt desire before. This was
something . . . more. It was deeper, fuller.
More acute.
It left her with a yearning that rocked her,
a hunger that consumed her. She might’ve heard stories about Cullen, but she
didn’t know him.
Her gaze locked on him as if magnetized. His
hazel eyes watched her like a predator, but she wasn’t afraid. No, it was more
exhilarating than anything.
Forcing her attention back to flying, she
set a course for Dover. Back to the place that hadn’t just altered her life,
but the Loughman boys’, as well.
“I’ve been expecting one of you,” she
finally said.
He looked out the windshield. “There are
answers to questions about my father’s kidnapping at Dover. And with you.”
“Nothing is going to stop me from finding
him. Orrin is one of the best men I know.”
“Then start at the beginning. We’ve got a
little time before we reach the base.”
The beginning. No. Not so far back as that.
There were things Cullen didn’t need to know, things that were better left in
the past.
She may be in an unsavory situation, and he might have just saved her, but that didn’t give him the right to her secrets.
Cullen hadn’t expected Mia Carter to be so . . . amazing.
He’d never seen a woman fight with such passion or with movements so beautiful
that he’d found himself watching her instead of finishing off the Colombian.
For the first time in Cullen’s life, he couldn’t find words.
He could only stare at the beautiful woman with one thought—Valkyrie.
She was the epitome of what he imagined the winged creatures
of Norse mythology would look like. All she needed was armor and a sword to
complete his vision.
Now, as he sat in the cockpit of the British WWII Bristol
Buckingham C. MK 1 plane, also known as the Bristol Type 163 Buckingham, he
couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
Beautiful didn’t begin to describe this incredible woman.
Every time her steely black gaze fringed with impossibly thick lashes turned
his way, he became entranced. Her eyes were large and slightly tilted up at the
corners.
He forgot to breathe as he took in her unblemished, sun-kissed
face. With high cheekbones and wide, full lips, he was smitten.
Wisps of inky black hair escaped from her ponytail to fall
along the narrow column of her neck. An olive tee skimmed her torso to show
mouthwatering curves, and black denim showcased her lithe legs to perfection.
“It was Orrin who approached me,” she said.
That didn’t surprise him. His father had always had a gift for
finding talent and using it to his advantage. “When?”
“A few years ago.”
It made Cullen wonder what else his father had been up to.
While he and his brothers were off building their lives, Orrin Loughman had
been setting up a team of Black Ops members to do some of the dirtiest jobs.
One of the missions, put together by the DOD, had sent Orrin
and his team to Russia to steal a bioweapon.
Except something had gone terribly wrong. Someone betrayed
Orrin Loughman. In the process, he’d been kidnapped, and his team was executed.
The last person to see his father was the woman sitting next
to Cullen.
The years he’d spent as a Marine Force Recon captain had
taught him many things. He knew how to fight his way out of various situations
using his hands, body, and mind. He knew how to spot lairs and traitors. He
also had dozens of rescues to his name.
He was damn good at his job. But he had to be more than good
now. His father’s very life depended on it.
“How did you find me?” Mia asked.
“I went to the Air Force Base. When you weren’t there, I
went to General Davis’s office. It seems they keep a record of every flight you
make.”
Her lips compressed. “That they do.”
“To my benefit. If I hadn’t arrived, you would either be
dead or in Camilo’s care. Neither of which sounds appealing.”
“I already thanked you.”
“Yes, ma’am. You sure did.” He linked his fingers over his
stomach. There was something about Mia Carter he found compelling, and it had
nothing to do with her beauty. She was very much like him, he suddenly
realized.
Wary of the world with a look of cynicism she didn’t bother
to hide.
“Tell me how a pilot with your skills is able to have a hangar
on a base, work for the military as a contractor, and still be able to take
jobs with criminals. Because let’s be honest . . . Camilo was a criminal.”
“It won’t matter what I give you as an explanation. You’ve
already formed an opinion,” she replied coolly.
In fact, he had formed an opinion. He suspected that she
liked danger. She also loved to fly. Combine the two, and she was in heaven.
“You were telling me about how you and my father began
working together,” he said, getting them back on topic.
She cut him a look with her black eyes. “What you really
want to know is if I betrayed him. As I told Callie—and everyone listening on
the phone that day—it wasn’t me.”
“I do remember that call. Though I’ve learned that people
say a lot of things that aren’t the truth.”
“You want the truth?” she asked, turning her head to him.
“I’ll tell you the truth. I hated taking orders, so I left the Air Force as
soon as I could. But I wasn’t ready to give up flying. It’s my life.”
That much he could tell. It was in her blood.
Series Trailer
(Sons of Texas Series, Bk #1)
by Donna Grant
Now Available!
The Legend
(Sons of Texas Series, Bk #3)
by Donna Grant
Release Date: June 27, 2017
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her "totally addictive" and "unique and sensual" stories. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features a thrilling combination of dragons, Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible. She lives with her two children and an assortment of animals in Texas.
You can find Donna at
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